Estey N Restoration

The case was diamantled, loose parts glued back in place and then prepared for refinishing. I used this organ to make videos on how to refinish a reed organ case. These can be viewed through the restoration videos tab under videos.

Case parts dismantled for french polishing

The back of the new bellows is also the back of the organ. It also needed a new top part.

New finials

New bellows under construction

Exhausters being recovered

The bellows installed

Pedals newly finished with new carpet

All iron work was cleaned, etch primed and finished with stone chip automotive paint

The bottom panel now fits

The new bellows platform. Note the routered out channel.

The bottom half of the organ now complete.

Mutes re-installed

Swell shades and pitmans installed

Swell shades with new hinges

Reconditioned Vox Humana re-installed

New versus old pallet valve leather

A clean coupler mecahnism

Keys being rebushed

Stop board mechanism with new bushings

A re-built stopboard

The bellows was replicated using 18mm birch plywood. This is much heavier than the original material but is much stronger. Given that it is so much heavier that the original material I modified the reconstruction slightly to include the use of hinges to help attach the middle board to the top part of the bellows since it also carries the full weight of the exhauster panels. This works well even though not true to the original construction. I used bellows cloth I obtained from Johnson Music Center in Mount Airy North Carolina. I have had it for a few years and was glad to get to use it. I like working with this material.

The bellows platform, being made from 18mm plywood, needed modification to serve its purpose. The original material was approximately 15mm. To use unmodified 18mm ply would leave the whole upper action raised in the case by 3mm. That’s a no go. So I routered out a chanel 3mm deep for the upper action to sit in. This is a solution I have used before when replacing a bellows platform and I find it works well.